Slatted blind



Aug. 28, 1951 R. c. CLARK E-TAL SLATTED BLIND Filed 001;. 28, 1947 INVEN TOR.

ROBERT c. CLARK a. wuss ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1951 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE SLATTED BLIND:

Robert.Q,: la k h mas J nes, Sanlirancisco, Calif...

Application 0ctoher=28, 194'.T, Se rial No. 782,500

ifila ma This invention relates; to; improvements; in;

slatted blinds for windows, of a; type,- commonly called Venetianblinds, and more-particularly relates to such blindsinwhicl'i-slatsaretiltable and readily removable; and replaced, andguided; in.

their upward and downward moyement.

Disadvantages have. heretofore; been; encountered-in so-called Venetianblinds :in-;maintaining the slats clean in use in; maintaining; theslats in proper substantially parallel; relation while being raisedand'lowered; in eIlmina-tingrubbing of the ends of, slats against-windowdrae peries, in tilting theI slats to a: completely closed position, inmaking lifting. cords; iny-isible,1 in

laundering the guiding. suppor.tlng ,-tapes,- as-well as otherdisadvantages.-

Therefore, it may be stated as -among the ob:

jects of this inventionare to providea; Venetian blind apparatus inwhich the.- cords, for raising,

and loweringthe slats.donotpagthrough the slats or any portion thereof;proyidmeasily; emqr and p ce bleats: eiproyi et r;

easy. and i m napfa.: hac at s e amr taining them relativelyparalleh to.pr videmflans.

forv guiding the vertical moyernent to provide for maint l 'ngth slcontacting relationof their adjaogust-ed. the slats are tilted .-to.clos d pos'itiofor making the elevating vide for removability of t g Ilaundering; a v d in. L Q QEQmE-t- IQMQQWSQ without radical departurefrom. the standardized V vaas nerallw upon the economyof-manuiactureiand;efficiency;

parts M 1 1? nd kandatqe m of operation of devices pfthischg1fflqtlil};

Witlil the foregoing and;other-pbjeots in view;

allof which will -m ore ,full hereip appeanone;

form in which. the inventio a be embodied in: the accompanying drawlstood that changes-in form, s1; rialand other'minorgdetails na bysubstitution of equiyalents -w r e waitt e inreein n t app nd d c a ms--Inthe drawing;

is set forth; in this descript n and illustratedz. it belngc under Fig-vid llt eratl eat ew-e anama;

section;

F193 is f re m eiara oesliusimtsecti ni.

Fig. 5 is a perspective, enlargement of, apporticn-of Fig; 1;

Fig. 6 is a, fragmentary end view of a modified: form,.and-

Fig. '7 is a vertical fragmentary section of tapes; and slatsillustrative partly of operation.

Referring to the drawing in which. like, reference characters indicatecorresponding parts; in theseveral views, I0 indicates generally a framesuch as the usual Window or door frame,-, in connection with which aslatted blind: is; to: be hung. Thereissecured to and extendingforwardlyfrom the Window frame a headplate. H which is disposed in a horizontalplane: of. a. length substantially equal tothe. width? of the.- windowframe opening. The. specific means for: securing the headplate to thewindow-framemay be of any suitable type of bracket of sufficient;strength, bearing in mind that at times there: may be considerablestress of pull on the cords ofthe blind, and further bearing in mindthat. the blind must be adequately supported verti-v cally as well asagainst lengthwise movement, and that the brackets must not interferewith the. operation of raising, lowering, or tilting f of theslats ofthe blind or the. manipulation of operative cords. Supporting bracketsof con-. ventional type are here shown. at l2 and IS. A. canopy id maylikewise be mounted by any suitable brackets over the top oftherheadplate; with adepending front board Ma, the canopy not; being anoperative element, but merely for es-z thetic appearance and to providea means behind I which the slats may be hidden from view when:

. they are completely raised, as well as to prevent dust from settlingon the'headplate and also theslatswhenthe latter remain in completelyraised position over long periods of time.

Suspended from the under face of the head-. plate, H is an upper tiltingrail [5; one end of which is ,pivotally and removably mounted by pin 16in an open hooked bracket ii; and the opposite endof which is pivotallyand removably mounted by a square headed pin. is in a tilting gearassembly generally indicated 19. The tilt-.- ing gear assembly is astandard and conventional J assembly obtainable in several. types ontheopen. market and therefore is not described or'illustrated. in. detailofits vpartsyotherthan to state generally that one well-known typewhichfis adapted ,for use has acasing provided with a: bracket formounting it to the headplate, andwithin, the casing is a driven wormshaftwith whichz meshesz a driven: worm-gear having: a

square axial-:opening :to-receive the square end of";

pin [8, the Worm shaft having mounted at one of its end outside of thecasing a small sheave, the groove of which has sockets therein and whichmay be rotated in either direction by a chain 20 of successively linkedballs. Thus, when either end of the chain is pulled it rotates thesheave and thereby the worm drive shaft and the driven worm gear and thepin I 8, whereby the upper tilting rail l5 may be tilted from ahorizontal plane.

Upon the upper tilting rail are securely mounted one end of relativelylongitudinally spaced textile web tapes 2| forming elongated dependingloops, of which there are, always at least two, and more ifappropriately necessary for a wider blind. Secured to and preferablyenclosed within the opposite end of the'opposed flights of the loop ofthe web tapes so as to be tiltable thereby, is a lower tilting rail 22which is likewise secured to thetape so that the upper and lower tilting:rails' may be tilted in unison. Any suitable meansmay be employed tosecure the" tapes to the upper and lower tilting rails, such as staples,but it is preferred that such securing means be releasable snapfasteners or buttons 23, since this type of fastener permits the tapesto be'readily removed from the tilting rails for laundering orreplacement.

The oppositeends of the lower tilting rail are pivotally mounted by pins24 in slide blocks or shoes 25, 25a, which ride in opposingly spacedchannels 26 and are slidably confined therein by flanges 2611 at theopposite edges of spaced vertical side wings 27. These side wings are ofsomewhat greater vertical height than the entire length of the tapes 2!.In order to reduce frictional drag, the slide blocks 25 have a portionof their opposite sliding faces cut away as at 28 so that they havesliding bearing on rounded end portions only. At least one of the sidewings is hingedly mounted by any suitable type of hinge member 29, itbeing optional whether the opposing wing be hingedly mounted, thoughunder certain conditions it is desirable to have both wings hingedlymounted, in order to meet conditions where one end of the blind must bepositioned so closely to a wall or other obstruction that a wing at thatend could not be swung outward on its hinges, in which event theopposite hinged wing would be available for the use and purposeshereinafter described. For usual installations, however, it is believedthat having one end wing hingedly mounted is sulficient.

It will be observed that the tape loops 2| are provided with verticallyspaced cross webs or lacing webs 3E3 connecting the opposite flights orruns of the tape loop, forming what may be termed a tape ladder. Thesecross webs support elongated slats 3!, the relative vertical spacing ofthe cross webs being just a trifle less than the lateral transversewidth of the slats. The slats are of wood, plastic, or lightweight sheetmetal strip material, and are rectangular in plan so that they may becut from strip material perpendicular to the longitudinal edges of thestrip, and are free of holes, notches, or other accommodations forpassing cords therethrough or attachment of cords thereto. They are ofsuflicient width so that when tilted by the tape ladder from a normalhorizontal plane to a substantially vertical plane, they relativelyoverlap slightly at their adjacent edges, that is, the lower edge of onetilted slatxslightly overlaps the upper edge of the next adjacent slatwhen the slats 75-" are completely tilted to vertical positions. Theslats rest loosely upon the cross webs 30, and are of suflicient lengthso that their ends loosely and slidably engage within the channels 26 ofthe opposed side wings, so as to be guided and aligned thereby in upwardand downward movement.

Cord means are provided for raising and lowering the tapes and slat"vladder, consisting of a cord loop 32 for'manual manipulation, the loopbeing divided into two branches or lines which move in unison by meansof a clasp 33. Both branch lines pass through a small sheave 34 having ahelical thread at the bottom of its groove" so that'the cords run freeat the center ofthe groove and by pulling the cord loop laterally thebranch "line cords are thrown against a braking or looking surface. Thissheave and cord arrangement are. well-known standard equipment inthisart and need no more detailed description. One branch line cord 35runs from the sheave 34 over a small guide pulley 31, then back of thechannel flange or front molding 26a. and forwardly of the'adjacent endof the slat ladder, and has its terminal end removably attached to theforward portion-of the upper edge of the slide block 25 b'y a snap hook35a, whereas the other cord line 36 extends from the sheaveidiagonally'acrossthe upper face of the headplate ll, thence over anantifriction small guide pulley 3M and downwardly behind the adjacentopposite end portions of the slat ladder, and has its terminal endremovably attached to the rearward upp'er'edg'e portion of the slideblock 25a by similar snap" hook 36a. Suitable upstanding spacer blocks38 which may also serve as guides, may be provided on the upper face ofthe headplate H so thjat the canopy will not contact the cord 36 andrestrict its free movement.

In the modification of Fig. 6 the side wings 21a are not hingedlymounted to swing as in Fig. l, but the slats are removable andreplaceable through a vertical'slotted opening 21b in the side wing, theslotbeing preferably of lesser width than thelateral transverse width ofthe slats. The slats may be removed through this elongated slottedopening by tilting the slats from their normal horizontal plane to apartially vertical plane, thoughwhen the slats are in their normalhorizontal plane position they will not slide through the openingbecause the slot is narrower than the width of the slat. M

In operation the raising and lowering of the slats is accomplished bypull and release manipulation of cord loop 32, and the lines thereof 35,36, the line 35' being hidden from view behind the wing flange 2611 atone end of the blind and the line 36 being-hidden from view behind theoppositeends of the slats-both lines sliding freely because they areheld away from frictional contact with the-slatsyinasmuch as the smallguide pulleys 37, 31d, as the case may be, are positioned at the edgeportion of the headplate and have the terminal endsthereof'secured tothe outer ends of the upper edge of the slide blocks. Since these latterattachments are releasable, they permit the upper and lower tiltingrails ll, 22, to

be entirely separated from the elevating cord arrangement and removed asa unit, such removal being accomplished by lifting the pin ['6 from theupper tilting rail bracket I1 and removing the opposite square bead pinI8 from the square axial opening of the driven gear of tilting ap- Inthe apparatus of Fig. 1*it'is'only necessary to swing one of the hingedwings 21 outwardly and to detach the snap hooks of cords 35, 3'6 fromthe slide blocks, whereupon the upper and lower tilting rails, the slideblocks, the tape ladder, and the slats may be removed as a unit, forcleaning or repair, or the individual slats may be removed as desired.In the modification of Fig. 6 which does not have the hinged mounting ofthe side wings, the slats should first be removed through the slottedopening 211), said snap hooks released, and then the lower tilting rail22 and the attached slide blocks may be removed or replaced between thewings by tipping to an inclined position. When thus dismounted, thetapes may be removed by unsnapping the snap fastener buttons so that thetapes may be laundered. If the tapes are stapled to the tilting rails itis only necessary to remove a few staples which makes laundering equallyand easily practical.

In raising and lowering the slats it is to be noted that the slideblocks and the ends of the slats are guided by the channels 26 so thatthe slats are maintained vertically aligned, and that the weight of thelower tilting rail, guided as it is by the slide blocks 25, maintainsthe slots in relative parallelism while they are being raised andlowered. In this connection it will be also observed that the clasp 33on both lines of the pull cord 32 simultaneously or jointly makes thepull or release tension equal on both the elevating lines 35, 36.

As previously stated, the tilting of the slats from normal horizontalfully open position to a substantially vertical fully closed position,or to any intermediate position is accomplished by the tilting geargenerally indicated 19, operating to tilt the upper tilting rail H andthereby tilting the crosswebs of the tapes upon which the slats repose,and also tilting the lower tilting rail 22. Since the lower tilting railis pivotally mounted by pins 24 in the slide blocks which are guided inchannels 26, regardless of the angle of tilt of the slats and tiltingrails, the operation of raising and lowering of the slats of the blindis with equal facility regardless of the angle or plane of the slats.

It is to be further noted that by providing that the respectiveelevating lines 35, 35 shall operate totally independent of, and free ofany connection to the slats, the slats may be tilted to a substantiallycomplete vertical position, the cross webs of the tape ladder being sospaced relatively that when the slats are tilted to a substantiallycomplete vertical position the adjacent edges of next adjacent slatsoverlap just a trifle so that the blind is completely closed to light orvision therethrough. The advantage of this facility may be illustratedby comparison with the well-known method of threading the elevating cordlines through holes in the longitudinal center of the slats in line withand underlying the tapes, in which event the thickness of the cord linesprevents the slats from closing or remaining completely closed whentension is released on the lines.

Since in both raising and lowering the slats they are guided in thechannels 26 of the wings, there is no possibility of rubbing or snaggingagainst adjacent draperies around a window or other place where theblind is used. Also, by such guiding and retention of the ends of theslots and lower tilting rail in the guiding channels 26, there is nopossibility for the flexibly tape-supported blind to blow out into aroom, if a window be open for ventilation.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as patentable is:

1. A slotted blind structure including a plurality of elongated slats,upper and lower tilting rails, flexible means interconnecting the slatsand tilting rails, means for raising and lowering the lower tilting railand slats, a guide channel at each side of the blind structure, a slideblock freely slidable in each guide channel, pivotal connections betweenthe slide blocks and the ends of the lower tilting rail, and hinge meansfor securing one guide channel to a window frame so that said channelcan be readily swung to one side to facilitate removal of the tiltingrails, slats and slide blocks.

2. The combination of claim 1, in which the slide blocks extend acrossthe guide channels and the slide blocks have a portion of their oppositesliding faces cut away so that said blocks have sliding bearing onrounded corner portions, to reduce frictional drag.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the slide blocks extend acrossthe guide channels and the slide blocks have a portion of their oppositesliding faces cut away so that said blocks have sliding bearing oncorner portions, to reduce frictional drag.

4. The combination of claim 1 including hinge means for securing eachchannel to a window frame so that both channels can be readily swung tothe side to facilitate removal of the tilting rails, slats and slideblocks.

ROBERT C. CLARK. THOMAS C. JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,914,050 Smith June 13, 19332,069,084 Brent et al. Jan. 26, 1937 2,242,697 Duca May 20, 19412,255,311 Butler et al. Sept. 9, 1941 2,421,308 Anderson May 2'7, 1947

